What is the slope of a trend line that passes through the points (5, 80) and (7, 65)?

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1 answer

To find the slope \( m \) of the trend line that passes through the points \( (x_1, y_1) = (5, 80) \) and \( (x_2, y_2) = (7, 65) \), we use the formula:

\[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \]

Substituting the values of the points:

\[ m = \frac{65 - 80}{7 - 5} \]

Calculating the differences:

\[ m = \frac{-15}{2} \]

Thus, the slope of the trend line is:

\[ \boxed{-\frac{15}{2}} \]